Chew Heng Ching
Singapore
“Sir, in terms of sports facilities, we, as a nation, are certainly very well-endowed. We have many stadiums, swimming complexes, sports halls, multi-purpose fields, tennis courts, school fields and many, many more.”
“These jobs need not necessarily be limited to menial jobs like cleaners, sweepers and lift attendants, but could be extended to include the services of older professionals such as engineers, accountants, managers, and clerical officers.”
“For this reason, Sir, I am a bit disappointed with the Budget in that we could have done more for our SMEs, many of which have also made sacrifices in the past and are still struggling and not able to reap the benefits of economic recovery.”
“In so doing, we may have addressed the form of the issue at high cost to our charities, deterred some good people from coming forward to serve and to volunteer, but may miss out on the substance, which is the bigger picture, ie, what is the best means with reasonable level of disclosure and accountability to help meet the needs of the nee…”
“May I, therefore, suggest that the Government look into the plight of these wet market stall owners. Many wanted to give up their stalls but, with outstanding loans from the banks, they could not. Some wanted to sell their stalls but there were no buyers. And their children are not willing to take over the stalls.”
“May I therefore propose that the Ministry, in the light of this massive LUP project announced by the PM, review the adequacy and the use of town council sinking funds.”
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“I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head N be reduced by $10 in respect of Code NB 1500 of the Main Estimates. Sir, a unique feature of this year's Budget document is the incorporation of workload and performance indicators of Ministries. With the incorporation of these indicators, the transition to a PPBS system of budgetting, I believe, is fully completed by now. The credit must go to the Ministry of Finance (Budget) officers for making this transition possible. There are now more objective measures to evaluate the performance of Ministries. Sir, this workload and performance indicators serve to ensure that the services provided by the public sector are carried out in the most cost-effective manner. It minimizes wastage and ensures that our resources of taxpayers' moniesare efficiently and effectively spent in the discharge of these services. It is a noble objective. Sir, my concern with the PPBS system is when the Ministry of Finance (Budget) carries the objective to its extreme, such that Ministries become so performance-conscious that they implement all kinds of cost-cutting measures just to show to the Budget Officers every year that their performance has improved. But all this would be to the detriment of the level of service offered by the Ministries to the public. The concern, Sir, is: where do we draw the line between cost-effectiveness and service to the public? Both are equally important. Would the Minister please comment on this observation? And would the Minister also give the assurance that the level of service to the public provided by the various Government departments and statutory boards will not be worse off because of the implementation of the PPBS?”
“Sir, as we become a middle class society, more literate and better educated and with smaller family size, parents are showing a greater interest in the intellectual, emotional and social development of their children. Very often, the parents double up as teachers and tutors at home. This takes up quite a large part of their time every day. But, unfortunately, most of our parents are not as knowledgeable or as well-equipped or trained as school teachers. I know of parents who read printed materials on child care and child upbringing. They even get together to share their experiences on problems and solutions relating to the upbringing of their children. But, Sir, there is still a perceived knowledge gap on the subject. Sir, the TV could play a role here. May I suggest that the SBC screen more regularly more educational programmes for parents - show programmes on child care, child upbringing, and on how to inculcate the right value system in our children, including helping them to develop into well balanced individuals.”
“Sir, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.”
“Sir, I beg to move, That the sum to be allocated for Head V be reduced by $10 in respect of Code VE 3100 of the Main Estimates. Sir, I notice that the Government's grant to the EDB for the Budget year under discussion more than doubled its actual expenditure in FY 88. The bulk of the increase is in the form of capital grant for the numerous Economic Development Assistance Schemes. The increase in grant to the EDB is perhaps in line with recent legislation in this House to enable EDB to take on a more active economic development role. Sir, one of these additional responsibilities bestowed on the EDB is the promotion of the services sector. I wish to ask the Minister what plan does the EDB have to promote the services sector? Has it mapped out a blueprint for growth? And what are the types of services activity being promoted? How do these activities relate to those currently being promoted by other statutory boards, such as financial services by MAS, warehousing services by TDB and PSA, and telecommunication services by Telecoms. Sir, I fully support the need to promote the services sector. My concern is that in promoting this sector, it is necessary for all Government departments and statutory boards to work together to ensure that there is no duplication of resources and that the promotion work is effectively coordinated. May I ask the Minister whether it is also the role of the EDB to coordinate the promotion of these services activities?”
“I know MTI has started this by getting the EDB and the TDB to help local companies look for investment opportunities abroad but these efforts alone are not enough. The Government should also consider being a financial partner in some of these ventures. Incentives must be introduced to encourage Singaporeans to accept overseas postings. There must be a conscious and coordinated effort by the Government to channel resources towards grooming Singapore MNCs. May I conclude by urging the Minister to seriously look at these suggestions. Our economy has the potential to grow faster. Let us not be contented with 4-6% growth.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, the Government has projected a long term moderate economic growth of 4-6% a year. Sir, this is a realistic target given the constraints to our growth posed by the shortage of land and manpower resources. Sir, if we can achieve this economic growth rate, we could continue to live comfortably with improvement in the standard of living and our quality of life. But, Sir, should we be contented with this moderate growth rates? I think we can do better. Our economy has the inherent potential to grow much faster. I am not advocating that we open the gate for a large influx of foreign workers. What I have in mind, Sir, is that we as a country, both the private and the public sectors, have large financial resources. We should harness these resources to achieve higher growth, invest these resources overseas in markets where there are no constraints on land and manpower. Sir, we have a number of home grown Singapore companies. Most of them are cash rich with the financial muscles to venture abroad, invest in markets overseas and remit profits back to Singapore. Many have the potential to be large MNCs or the so-called "Singapore Inc." Sir, this idea of forming Singapore Inc. was mooted more than 10 years ago but we have not consciously promote it. I think it is timely now to pursue this idea more vigorously. Sir, we are embarking on the next phase of our economic development where we should measure our national income more in terms of GNP rather than GDP. I think in time to come income generated from overseas will form a sizeable part of our economic pie. The Government should take the lead to develop Singapore MNCs.”
“But in some instances in some large housing estates this is simply not possible. But HDB will be monitoring the situation carefully following this reorganization and watching whether there is any necessity to open up more branch offices to do the collection. I must say at the present moment that HDB does not have any plans to open up more branch offices or collection centres. What I would like to do is to urge all residents, tenants and lessees, to try to make use of cashless payments wherever possible. For instance, they can use the Giro payments for their rental or their loan instalments. In the case of car owners who need to renew their season parking tickets, they are welcome to renew their tickets through the mail. HDB is already accepting such renewal through the mail. It is far more convenient for them than to go to the branch offices.”
“I think there is one other query I raised which the Minister has not attended to. This is in regard to the streamlining of HDB area offices, whether the Ministry will consider setting up collection centres in big GRCs in the respective zones. The Senior Minister of State for National Development (Dr Lee Boon Yang): Sir, during the first two days of March there were indeed some disruption to the people who had to go to the various area offices or branch offices to make their payment to HDB. There were a few reasons for it. First, there was a spillover of people who had to pay their bills from the end of February to early March. Secondly, in the process of reorganizing the area offices, HDB had to issue to the residents two new pass books, one to pay their rental or loan instalment, and the other to pay for the service and conservancy charges. This is to pave the way for the Town Councils taking over the management of the estate. Thirdly, there were many motorists who were renewing their season parking ticket at the end of February. Fourth, since it was a new arrangement people were not familiar with the various arrangements at the new offices that they have to go to and the payment procedures. But HDB is confident that the confusion or the long queues which took place in early March will not repeat itself in April. By April most people will be more familiar with the payment procedures and they will know where to go. However, as a precaution HDB will deploy more staff and open up additional counters to make sure that the congestion at their various area offices and branch offices will not repeat itself. HDB tries, wherever possible, to provide branch offices or area offices in a central location to the convenience of as many residents as possible.”
“Moreover, with current market conditions, a young graduate after working for one or two years could easily earn $2,000 per month. And with this trend towards graduates marrying graduates, professionals marrying professionals, I think the combined family income could easily reach $4,000 a month. To buy a private apartment or a house is beyond the reach of these people because prices of private properties have also risen very rapidly in the last one to two years. Sir, perhaps it is time that the Minister reviews the income ceiling for HDB applicants.”
“It spans from Bedok North, which encompasses Kaki Bukit Constituency, to Bedok Reservoir; and all the way north to Tampines North, as far as Pasir Ris New Town. The former HDB Bedok North area office which serves Kaki Bukit and Bedok Reservoir residents have been relocated to an area outside the GRC, in Tampines East. Residents from Kaki Bukit and Bedok Reservoir have to take at least two buses to reach that office. Sir, we are aware that the HDB encourages residents to pay their charges through Giro and by post. But not all residents are used to Giro and not all residents have chequing accounts. Moreover, I am aware that many families use elderly members of their family to go to area offices to make their payments. So this recent relocation programme greatly inconveniences some of these families. I would like to ask the Minister whether he has any plan to try to resolve some of these problems. Would he consider setting up more than one collection centre in each constituency, particularly in a big GRC like Eunos GRC? In other words, consider setting up collection centres in each of the three zones of Eunos GRC - one in Kaki Bukit, one in Bedok Reservoir, and one in Tampines North which could be the main Area Office. These centres could be open, say, a week in a month within restricted hours for payment of current charges. The last topic concerns application for HDB flats. I am asking the Minister whether he would review the current income ceiling of $4,000 for eligibility to purchase an HDB flat. I believe the current ceiling was set some years ago, as far back as 1984 or 1985. Following the economic recovery in 1986, wages have indeed gone up. Singaporeans were able to enjoy about 5-8% wage increase per year in the last two to three years.”
“Sir, the HDB has this programme to repair ceilings of flats affected by spalling concrete. The problem is common in older estates, for example, parts of the Eunos GRC, and I believe that this repair programme, which commenced last year, is expected to last five years. It is a goodwill gesture on the part of the HDB and indeed a laudable one. Owners of flats with this problem appreciated the efforts by HDB. Sir, the impression gathered is that the repair work will be done only to those cases reported to the HDB before a certain cut-off date. If this is the case, then owners who have not reported their cases to HDB are not aware of this programme. And they did not report the cases because they believed that after the first year of occupation, HDB is not responsible for any defects. In order to be fair and ensure that every flat owner does not miss this opportunity, perhaps HDB should publicize this programme more. May I ask the Minister how the HDB proposes to publicize this programme and how it proposes to go about identifying flats with this problem? The next subject relates to the recent streamlining of functions of HDB area offices and branch offices. Sir, the recent streamlining functions to prepare for the running of housing estates by town councils has caused some confusion as reported in the press. Residents are confused as to the role of area offices vis-a-vis branch offices. Even when things are back to normal, in perhaps one or two months' time, I think the recent restructuring exercise could result in greater inconvenience to residents when they pay their charges to HDB. Take the case of Eunos GRC, which is a huge constituency when compared to an average constituency.”
“Sir, I have three amendments. Can I take the three amendments together?”
“Mr Speaker, the family is an important institution in any community. Peace and stability in the community depend on the stability of every family within the community. Having made achievements economically, achievements in material terms, we should focus attention on non-material areas. The happiness and security of the family are things that deserve our total concern. Clearly, we must give attention to the issue of parental education programmes to enable parents to build a happy family life. Parents have a major task in the education of their children. This is a lifetime task. The happy family life that we seek must be built on the foundations of love and care amongst its members. They must also be prepared to sacrifice for their family to ensure the happiness of the family. Mr Speaker, I would like to call upon the Government, beside giving incentives to parents to have more children according to their means, to give attention to the quality of community life through family education programmes. A happy family life is the foundation for a peaceful, prosperous community and nation. Mr Speaker, I support this year's Budget.”
“As an example, a rebate of 15% of the wife's income is given for the birth of a fourth child in lieu of maternity leave. This, I think, is not advantageous to mothers who do not earn high incomes. The ones who benefit most are mothers who earn high incomes who would surely be already in the position to have more children. Mothers, whether they belong to the high-income or low-income category, all contribute to the country, which really needs their services in terms of employment. So in order to be fair to all, I feel the Government should allow maternity leave for third and subsequent children. Mr Speaker, where family life and working mothers are concerned, a number of questions need to be answered. Firstly, what can we do to encourage our people to have families and to have more children if they can afford it. Secondly, how can we encourage more women to remain working even after starting a family. And thirdly, what facilities can we offer men who have working wives. I feel the relevant Government policies should fulfil the desire of the people to have families as well as answer the questions I have posed earlier. The participation rate of women in employment is only 48%. If we want more women to remain working, we must provide more facilities for them. These include more creches, kindergartens and schools, maternity leave and, if possible, special leave for fathers, etc. Much has been said about this by my colleagues in this House. I do not wish to repeat what has been said. But let me focus our attention on one matter which we need to consider, and that is, how we can establish a comprehensive parent education programme to ensure better family life. In other words, how we can assist parents to enhance their family life.”
“Parents eligible for these incentives would certainly be able to use the extra money that they will gain therefrom to provide a little more comfort for their families. Mr Speaker, I would like to pose a few questions to the Minister for Finance on the tax rebates allowed. First, the relief for parents, which has been increased to $2,500. The question is: could a person be eligible for this relief even if he does not live with the parent? The present rule requires such persons to live with their parents. But we know that there are many who support their parents through monthly contributions even though they do not live with them, for various reasons such as that their parents live with some other members of the family and so on. The second question concerns the rebate for third and fourth children which is limited to 12 years. My question is: why is it limited to 12 years and not until the child completes full-time, formal education, that is, until the completion of his secondary and tertiary education? Thirdly, regarding the rebate for a fourth child born after 1st January 1988. My question is: why only for those born after 1st January 1988? Many people feel that the special tax rebate of $20,000 for five years and relief of $1,500 should be given to all dependant fourth children. The reason is that the fourth child, whether he comes from a higher income family or a lower income family, would one day make the same contributions to the country even if they were born before the date. Mr Speaker, Government policies should be fair to the majority of the population. The Government should not have policies which tend to show discrimination to any particular sections of the community, especially to those of the lower-income group.”
“Therefore, I hope the Chinese community will pay serious attention to this problem of population and procreation and seek out some measures to remedy this situation. We should not look to the propitious animal years of the Chinese zodiac system in which to procreate and we also cannot depend on the Government's tax concessions alone to procreate. Otherwise, the problem of our population will be the more serious. On the other hand, the Government also cannot depend only on taxation policies to encourage procreation, because the effect will be very limited. I hope the Government will resort to other more active measures as well to help, such as propaganda and education and the setting up of more creches and to improve services in the creches to gain the confidence of parents to create more viable conditions for the families to be more confident in procreating more in order to turn round the trend of decreasing birth rate. Encik Ibrahim Othman (Bedok GRC)( In Malay): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Budget this year has two important objectives. Firstly to give impetus to the country's economic growth and, secondly, to encourage family life and procreation. The people have received the Budget well and welcomed the additional incentives introduced to encourage procreation, the care of aged parents and handicapped dependants. I support the Government's policy to encourage the people to have families and, for those who can afford it, to have more children. The tax rebates for the third and fourth children are a response to the Government's population policy which was introduced by the First Deputy Prime Minister about two years ago.”
“If it is desired to achieve an ideal level of rate of increase in total population by maintaining the balance in population increase of the various races, then the Chinese population increase rate must be raised, that is to say, the Chinese must increase their procreation rate. The Statistics Department recently has issued statistics on the birth rates of various races. It is shown that even last year - the Chinese generally regard last year, the dragon year, as a propitious year - the Chinese birth rate was trailing behind the other races. According to per thousand birth rates, the birth rate for Malays was 23%, Indians, 21.7% and Chinese, only 18.9%. Even in the dragon year, the result was like that. It certainly would be a cause for concern. Last year, the propitious dragon year, the increase in births of Chinese could be only a momentary phenomenon and the same manifestation may not occur again. Not long ago, according to the Acting Minister for Health, our birth rate this year may decrease by as much as 20%. But if the Chinese birth rate and propulation were to continue to decrease, then it will have very adverse effect on our total population and society. The greatest problem is the rapid aging of our population. At the moment, people over 60 years old number some 8% of our total population. At this rate, when we reach the year 2030, 40 years later, the aged population will be 26%. If the Chinese do not procreate more or decrease in population, then the aging of population will certainly speed up. This will greatly affect our economic ability in future. At the moment, those who are economically active, compared to those who are inactive like the retired, the ratio is about 8:1. After some 40-50 years, the ratio may be 2:1.”
“The main factors that greatly affect our demography and the rate of procreation are generally the urbanization, westernization and modernization of the society and the general rising of educational level of women as will as the full employment condition in addition to other factors prevailing in the society. There is the change of concept in regard to family and procreation. It is not easy to turn the tide of this long-term trend. From the long term point of view, we should start from education and the gradual revival of the traditional family concept to avoid being replaced completely by the trend of extreme individualism. The traditional family concept contains the system of cultural values and thought about personal cultivation, disciplining of one's family and the governance of the country, defining each individual's position and role in relation to the whole society and vis-a-vis the other individuals. On the other hand, I would remind the Chinese who are the great majority of the population that it is very important and necessary for them to increase their procreation rate. According to the latest statistics in 1988 the increase in our population was about 1.5%. According to different ethnic distributions, we can find out there were very great differences in their birth rates. The increase in Malays was 1.86%, Indians, 1.52% other races, 2.4%. Whereas in respect of Chinese, the population increase was only 1.4%. But the Chinese are about 76% of the total population. Therefore, the rate of increase of the Chinese population has a decisive effect on the total rate of population increase as a whole.”
“Try not to increase it by another $40 in July this year for those families which engage foreign maids to help look after their aged dependants, aged parents and their children. In conclusion, Sir, I think the Budget before us is a good one. I support the motion moved by the Minister for Finance. Mr Goh Choon Kang (Braddell Heights)( In Mandarin): Mr Speaker, Sir, I welcome the Budget for the coming financial year. Many people describe this budget as a family budget because it is of benefit to the families. Tax relief for a disabled child is increased from $750 to $2,500, for the maintenance of an aged parent the relief is increased from $1,000 to $2,500, for the wife from $1,000 to $1,500 for the first, second and third child from $750 each to $1,500. If I may express these figures in percentage terms, the rates of increase of the above tax reliefs will be 230%, 150%, 50% and 100%. Therefore, the rate of increases is very considerable. In addition, there is the rebate on the fourth child. The idea is to encourage parents who have the financial ability to produce the fourth child. All these measures will be able to reduce the economic burden of the families generally. Therefore, they should be welcome. But how big an effect will it be on encouraging marriage and producing more children? I think we have to wait and see. When the couple consider whether to produce more children or how many, I think they will generally consider three factors. The first factor will of course be the economic position of the family; the second, the problem of care for the children; and the third relates to the question of concept of more children. In encouraging procreation of more children the tax relief can only contribute a little towards this.”
“As regards the need to motivate and retain young talents within the civil service, particularly the Administrative Service, I personally doubt if the proposed revision in salary will be totally effective in trying to prevent a brain drain to the private sector. Many young and promising civil servants view upward mobility in the civil service as being limited. The top civil servants, the Deputy Secretaries and the Permanent Secretaries, are all very young, in their 30s and 40s. Moreover, with the Government's aim to try to reduce the size of the public sector, promotional prospects for these young civil servants may be limited. To resolve this problem of brain drain and to perhaps widen the talent pool from which to select and groom young and potential civil servants, I would like to suggest that the Government consider recruiting mid-career executives from the private sector for key services, including the Administrative Service. I believe the Government has not done this before. It has a policy of promotion from within. Perhaps it is time the Government reviewed this policy and widened its net to try to tap private sector talents. Finally, Sir, I move on to the last point, and that is, fiscal incentives for the family. I fully support the various tax incentives introduced to try to foster closer family unity and ties, encourage Singaporeans to have more children and to look after their aged and dependent parents. These are steps in the right direction. However, these fiscal incentives by themselves are not enough. As a further measure to encourage Singaporeans to have more children and to look after their dependent parents, may I suggest the Government review the levy on foreign maids. Keep the levy at the present level of $160 per month.”
“Sir, given this scenario of a slowdown in economic growth and wages spiralling upwards, I urge the Government to consider increasing the employer's CPF contribution rate by only 2% instead of 4% this year. If moderate economic growth could be sustained in the following three years, the rate could be increased by another 2% each year in 1990, 1991 and 1992 in order to bring it to the long term level of 20%. At the same time, reduce the employee's CPF contribution rate by 1% per year in the next four years. These changes will be more gradual and, barring a serious economic recession, I believe our economy should be able to absorb these cost increases without seriously affecting our competitive position internationally. Sir, I would like to move on to the next subject which is the much talked about civil servants' salary revision. I support the need for the public sector to have its fair share of brains and talents, particularly in the key services like the Administrative Service. Presumably, the proposed increase in salary is to try to match the salaries of key civil servants with those in the private sector and to also try to motivate and retain talents within the service. Sir, whilst I agree we must adjust the salary of civil servants we must be careful not to try to match it dollar for dollar with the private sector. The civil servant enjoys job security and his salary is seemingly less dependent on his individual job performance. The private sector executive's income fluctuates between good and bad times. He could even be fired if the organization fails or he makes a wrong decision. This seldom happens in the civil service.”
“I suggest the Government deliberate carefully any efforts to try to quickly restore cost as a result of sacrifices made by Singaporeans during the recession years. We must continue to watch our international competitiveness. The Government has announced a long-term CPF contribution rate of 40% and that the employer's CPF contribution rate will be raised by 4% with a corresponding reduction in employee's CPF contribution rate of 2% in July this year, subject to our economic performance in the first quarter of this year. Sir, I appreciate the concern shown by the Government to try to restore CPF rates, but I believe it may not be proper to try to base the decision on whether or not to increase the employer's CPF contribution rate by 4% merely on this year's first quarter economic performance. Given the openness of our economy, it could slow down in subsequent quarters as quickly as it has picked up in recent quarters. With a slower economic growth outlook for the rest of this year, the proposed 4% increase in employer's CPF contribution rate appears on the high side. Sir, another significant development, and this has been brought up by various speakers before me, is the pressure on wages in the next few months given the very tight labour market situation. There are just too many jobs chasing after too few job seekers. The proposed increase in civil servants' salaries may have an impact on wages in the private sector. This upward movement of wages, if we are not careful, could price us out of the international markets. We must try to avoid a repeat of what happened in the recession in 1985.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, many people say this year's budget is a good and painless one. There were little surprises and indeed the only surprise was what did not happen, the absence of any fiscal measures to curb the rapid growth of our car population. I say this year's budget is a prudent one, caring but cautious. It is a "pro-family" budget as well as one aimed at maintaining our international competitiveness and fostering economic growth. Sir, I would like to discuss briefly three subjects mentioned in the budget, and they are the long-term CPF rate adjustment, civil servants' salary and fiscal incentives for the family. Sir, our economy has performed extremely well last year. Many Singaporeans were able to secure jobs, earn good incomes and enjoy a higher standard of living. Can this happy growth scenario last forever? Unfortunately it cannot. We live in an interdependent world. Our economic health depends too much on the external economy. Moreover, for social and political reasons, we cannot rely too much on foreign labour for growth. The Government has therefore forecasted a more moderate growth of 6-7% for this year. This is a realistic forecast given the constraint to growth posed by our limited manpower resources and the tight labour market situation. Sir, the world economic outlook is one of cautious optimism, if I may put it. Upward pressures on inflation and interest rates in the developed economies have begun. Economists are already forecasting a slowdown in growth next year. The latest first quarter 1989 survey of business expectations carried out in Singapore suggests a slowdown in economic growth this year. Sir, with this slower growth economic outlook, I would like to sound a word of caution.”
“Sir, I have just two clarifications to seek from the Minister of State. I agree with him that the EDB has come a long way since it was set up in the early 60's. Its traditional role of promoting manufacturing investments in Singapore has taken on a new dimension in the last few years when it started to promote Singapore as a total business centre. Its functions described under a new section 5A are laudable. The Board is now asked to promote the services industry. I think there is nothing wrong. In fact, it is a step in the right direction by the Government to promote the services industry. My fear is: will the expanded role of the EDB impinge on the traditional role of the Trade Development Board, which is essentially to promote the export of our local products and services? My concern, Sir, is of our scarce resources. I think we must try to avoid duplication of functions and resources by our statutory boards in promoting economic development. Perhaps the Minister may wish to clarify on this observation. Another clarification pertains to the appointment or the creation of a CEO post in the EDB. I think the Minister of State did not quite explain this. I just want to know why is this move necessary, since the Board has been run sucessfully in the past by an Executive Director and now by an Executive Chairman and a General Manager.”
“It is therefore heartening to note that the present Government will continue to build on the foundation laid by our first generation leaders. The national ideology programme cannot therefore be more timely. It will further strengthen this foundation from which based our multi-racial, multi-lingual and multi-religious society. I therefore urge all Singaporeans from all walks of life to participate in this programme so that together we shall build a Nation of Excellence.”
“To quote the words of the President in his Address, "We must learn to enjoy a more meaningful and fulfilling life." Sir, we might not be ready to implement a 5-day working week system 10 years ago. Not even five years ago. But I think we are ready now. As we become a middle class society, more productive and efficient in our work, as we begin to work smartly, we need not have to work 5(r) or 6 or 7 days a week. Very often, Saturday morning is not always productive. The 5-day work week which is the norm in most middle class societies should be adopted. I think we are ready for it. Let us formally adopt it. Let us encourage employers who could afford it to do so. Perhaps the Government should take the lead by starting it in the civil service and I am sure many companies in the private sector will follow. With a 5-day work week, Singaporeans will have more time for leisure. They should use the free time to foster closer family ties, look to cultural and artistic pursuits and do community work. They should make Saturday their Family day - a day where family members interact with each other to foster greater family unity. They should make Sunday a Community day - a day when Singaporeans volunteer their services to help create a better neighbourhood and help the less fortunate in our society. These activities, if successfully implemented, will serve to uphold the important core values of family unity and placing society before self, identified in the President's Address. Only then can we be useful citizens, cultivated and well-balanced human beings. Finally, Sir, as we become a middle class society we cannot be complacent and take our success for granted. Because of our smallness, no matter what form of a society we become, we are always vulnerable to external factors.”
“Sir, as we aim to achieve greater productivity growth, we need to consciously instil good work ethics, eg, punctuality, loyalty to company, pride in work and productivity consciousness among Singaporeans. In other words, we as Singaporeans must learn to work "smart". All too often we work very hard but not necessarily smart. These core values at the workplace are necessary as they are fundamental towards achieving a highly productive economy. I suggest that the National Ideology Committee consider adopting some of these values. We all work very hard to have our material needs met. It is common to see Singaporeans taking on two jobs or working long hours, six-seven days a week. It is also common to see Singaporeans working in the day, and studying in the evening in order to continue to upgrade themselves. There is nothing wrong with working long hours to earn more money or obtaining more paper qualifications. But all these mean that we have less time for our family. All these mean that we have less time to relax. We have less time to enjoy the fruits of our labour. All these mean that we have less time for community work. Sir, as our economy matures and grows more moderately in the future, as Singaporeans become more productive in their work, there will be more time for relaxation. We must learn to relax. We must learn to spend more time with our family - our loved ones, our parents and our children. We must devote more time for community work, get to know our neighbours better and offer our services to help the less fortunate in our society. We must play a greater role in nation building, in helping to create a better neighbourhood and community in which we live.”
“We debated that we must venture abroad aggressively to sell our products and services. We emphasized the need to invest in the training of our limited manpower resources and to increase labour participation rate by encouraging more female Singaporeans to join the workforce. We implemented a flexible wage policy in order to remain competitive. Sir, I am glad these economic policies turned out to be correct. Many Singaporeans were able to reap the benefits of economic recovery and now double digit growth. I am disappointed, however, Sir, with the sudden increase in the levy on foreign maids. (Sir, may I declare my interest here as I have a foreign maid.) This sudden increase in levy runs counter to our efforts to encourage more female Singaporeans to work, especially the housewives. Unless we have enough child care facilities, Singaporeans will have to continue to rely on foreign maids to look after their children. It takes time to build more child care centres. May I therefore suggest that the Government consider deferring the increase in the levy on foreign maids to $200 per month from July this year until such time when we have adequate child care centres. Sir, the short to medium term economic outlook for Singapore remains bright. The Ministry of Trade and Industry is aiming for an annual GDP growth of 6% over the next five years. This is a very reasonable target. This is a growth rate which we can sustain, given our limited resources, particularly manpower. This means that growth must come increasingly from productivity gain. Given our small population, we have no choice. We have to depend more and more on productivity gain for growth. Indeed, this is a healthier approach to growth, to wealth creation, more so as we aspire to become a middle class society.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the motion moved by the Member for Siglap. I notice from the President's Address that he touched very little on economic matters. But that does not mean that they are not important. Continuing economic growth is necessary for our progress and prosperity and it is through economic growth that wealth is created resulting in improvements in the standard of living for Singaporeans. Without wealth, our dream of a middle class society cannot be realized. It is therefore of utmost importance that, whilst we embark on this massive exercise to identify and inculcate core values among Singaporeans, we do not forget that the Singapore economy must remain healthy, and that it should continue to grow so that the economic pie is big enough to be shared by everyone. We must ensure that the fundamentals for economic growth are still there. Sir, we have had three consecutive years of economic expansion following the recession in 1985. Singaporeans in the last three years were able to enjoy a higher standard of living. These good years do not happen by chance. While many attribute them to the buoyant world economy, I think it is the right combination of many factors - political stability, good leadership on the part of the Government, the unions, the private sector businessmen, growing markets overseas, industrial harmony, good work attitude and discipline among our workforce. Sir, Members will remember that three years ago in this House, we discussed at length the economic policies that will take us to the status of a developed country by the turn of the century. We agreed that the private sector should be the engine of growth. We stressed the need for the Government to privatize its companies and statutory boards.”
“I think the Minister has explained that the quantum of grant will be dependent on the age of the estate and the types of buildings. I think it should also be a function of the amount of defects that currently exist in the estate. By this, I mean the magnitude of roof/wall leakages, rusty water tanks, sunken car parks and so on. On the other hand, will the HDB make good these defects and discharge all its liabilities before it hands the estate over to the Town Council? Sir, I would also like to know from the Minister the financial procedure in the granting of grants to a Town Council. Will the quantum of the grant to each Town Council be dependent on budget proposals submitted by the Town Council to the Minister every year? Finally, Sir, may I know whether the Government will come to the rescue of the Town Council in the event that the council runs into debt or is declared insolvent through the incompetence or wrongdoing of its members? Or worse still, its members absconded with the money belonging to the Town Council. The Bill is silent on this but I think it is in the interest of the public that the Minister should help explain the consequences and implications of such a scenario.”
“Sir, I rise to support the Bill. I am surprised at the stand adopted by the Member for Potong Pasir. He is not in favour of the Bill. If he is a serious opposition Member, he should capitalize on the Bill as it gives him the opportunity to run local estates, establish track records and perhaps govern Singapore one day. Does not the SDP have a long-term plan to be the alternative government of Singapore one day? Is the SDP not confident of running Town Council estates as well as PAP MPs? Sir, I have some clarifications to seek from the Minister on the Bill. Clause 9 of the Bill provides for the appointment of one Chairman and only one Vice-Chairman. Why is that so since there will normally be three MPs in a Town Council? Would it not be better to provide for two Vice-Chairmen instead of one, so that the responsibility of leading the Town Council could be better shared among the three MPs? Clause 19(f) states that the Town Council can accept donations. By extending the definition, may I ask the Minister to clarify whether the Town Council can raise funds publicly to help finance some of its development projects. I think the Bill should allow for this flexibility to allow Town Councils to raise funds to organize and undertake non-estate maintenance type of projects that will help to enrich the life of the constituents. Clause 39 states that a Town Council can raise loans chargeable upon its assets. By "assets", I presume it means all types of assets except immovable property under the care of the Town Council but belonging to the HDB, like food centres, playgrounds and so on. Can the Minister please clarify this definition? Clause 41 states that the Government will provide a grant to the Town Council.”
“Make sure they realize that Singaporeans are perfectly free to start new parties and have done so. In closing, let me say, especially to the young of Singapore, who seem so anxious to grasp Western styles and ideas, that not all things Western are good. Remember, as you bend over to smell the flowers, to watch for the snake in the grass. Sgd: Brian Lovejoy.'”
“We should collectively send strong signals to the outside world that we do not want foreign interference in our domestic affairs. We know how to deal with the problems and we are masters of our own destiny. I wish to end my speech by reading a very short letter written by an American businessman which appeared in the Forum page of the Straits Times dated 19th May. I would like this letter, if possible, to be published again in the local press. I quote: 'I was in Singapore for three-and-a-half weeks on business. I watched your news with a great deal of interest. It seems that many locals feel somewhat that their Government is overly paranoid about "foreign influence" and "political undermining". Let me assure you that your Government is correct in its assessments of current situations and in its reactions to those situations. Powerful nations always attempt to "steer" smaller nations in directions that will benefit them. No doubt Mr Hank Hendrickson had the best of intentions with his activities. We Americans are fond of a saying that will be enlightening in this area of consideration: "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions." A poison to Singapore is a poison, whether it is administered by a friend or a foe. I have heard Brigadier-General Lee Hsien Loong state more than once, "that Singapore alone should decide what's right for Singapore". You have probably heard this said enough times that you have become numb to its importance. Renew its freshness in your minds, because that really is the important consideration. Many Western countries will insist that at least two political parties need to exist before there can be "political justice". Simply argue back that the original party has done a fine job so more are not needed.”
“The last group, the Committee of 100, even went to the extent of running an advertisement in a national newspaper in Australia urging Australians not to visit Singapore. What are they up to? Are they trying to destroy the livelihood of Singaporeans? What have they got against us? Have they the right to tell us what to do? Are they aware of our conditions at home, our history of communist subversion, our communal problems, our social norms and our culture? Are they aware that any Singaporean can speak up against the Government, write to the press or even join political parties, hold rallies and stand for elections? They may care about the few detainees. But do they care about the economic well-being of all the other Singaporeans? Will they come to our rescue if we face an economic recession? Will they place an advertisement in their local press encouraging Australians to visit us? Will they place an advertisement in their local press encouraging their businessmen to invest in our country? More importantly, if we are attacked by an unfriendly country, will they come to our rescue? Sir, it is quite clear that some of these groups are politically motivated, out to undermine the peace and stability of Singapore. Many are totally ignorant of our culture, our social norms and conditions at home. Many are not sincere in their words and intentions. And many do not have the long-term interest of Singaporeans at heart. Sir, in the midst of all these developments, I find Singaporeans generally reticent about the whole matter. They seem contented to leave it to the Government and PAP political leaders to react to the actions by the foreign elements. This is not enough. I think Singaporeans should speak up more vocally against these foreign elements.”
“Sir, allow me to come back to the Original Motion moved by the Member for Braddell Heights and Member for Radin Mas. As I think through the issue more deeply, I find that it has very serious implications for us in Singapore. If we are not careful, our political stability, a very important pillar of our success, could be destroyed. All it takes is just a few foreign groups set to undermine the political stability of Singapore by causing dissent among Singaporeans, particularly the young, against the PAP Government. And if they are successful, what we have achieved in nearly 30 years could be wiped out overnight. We may ask ourselves: why are they doing this to us? We have no enemies. We do no harm to others. Perhaps it has got to do with us being too successful, our strategic location, our success as a model for Third world countries, our tightly knit society, our highly disciplined and adaptable workforce or even our consensus building. All these may be the envy of many a country. But all these could also pose as threats to others. Sir, in the Hendrickson affair, Singaporeans should be aware that various other foreign groups have taken the opportunity to try to interfere in our domestic affairs. They are the US-based human rights group, Asia Watch; the London-based Amnesty International; a Thai human rights group who call them- selves the Thai Human Rights Support Group for Singapore Detainees; a group which is called the Roman Catholic Bishop Committee for Justice, Development and Peace in Australia; and another group who call themselves the Australian Committee of 100. All have openly criticized and made unfair statements about Singapore.”
“Yes. Question put, "That the words proposed to be left out, be left out." Amendment negatived.”
“Sir, allow me to share my thoughts on this issue. Before we proceed, I would like to say some words about the Director of ISD, Mr Tjong Yik Min. Mr Tjong Yik Min was a classmate of mine, from the University of Newcastle. We graduated together with First Class Honours in Industrial Engineering. As a friend of Mr Tjong Yik Min for four years in the same university, I got to know him very well. And I share the Prime Minister's thoughts totally about this person. He is very competent. He is intelligent. He is a very careful and meticulous man. And I know him as a very loyal and very committed Singaporean. Sir, I would like to come back to the main motion proposed by the Members for Braddell Heights and Radin Mas. The Leader of the House (Mr Wong Kan Seng): A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir. We are now on the amendment moved by Mr Chiam. Perhaps we should put Mr Chiam's amendment to the vote first before the Member for Kaki Bukit speaks on the main motion.”
“Sir, on a point of clarification. I asked whether the private medical sector has a role in helping to reduce demand for health care, bearing in mind that it is against the economic interest to do so, and whether the Ministry is doing something to get the private sector to play that role.”
“May I ask the Minister what is his Ministry doing to try to reduce the demand for health care in the long run? Is there a role for the private sector here? And how can the private medical sector play that role? Is it not in the interest of the private medical sector not to try to reduce demand for health care, bearing in mind that that sector has its own economic interests?”
“Sir, our total health expenditure as a nation is about 3% of our GDP today. This ratio is indeed low when we compare with the 8-12% ratio experienced in most developed countries. But as our population ages and as we become wealthier, our demand for health care will inevitably increase. Our health expenditure as a proportion of our GDP will increase. Sir, my concern is: as demand for health care continues to increase, where do we strike a balance between the supply and demand for health care without unnecessarily pushing up the price of health care services? We could continue to increase the supply in Government hospitals through additional and better facilities and this means heavier health expenditure on the part of the Government. Private hospitals could increase their hospital resources to meet greater demand and this means heavier investment expenditure. Sir, we cannot continue to increase supply indefintely. I think the supply of health care is finite. There is a limit to which supply resources can grow. At some stage, these increases will have to be passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. Then there is a danger that the price of health care may be pushed up to a level which will go beyond the reach of the man in the street. The solution to this fear lies in our keeping demand for health care as low as possible. One way to achieve this is through continuous health education and preventive health care. Currently, the Ministry of Health spends about $20-$30 million a year on these activities. This amount is small. It is peanuts compared with the total Ministry's budget of $500 million. I think greater emphasis should be placed in these areas and more should be spent on these activities.”
“May I therefore suggest to the Acting Minister that the Ministry of Health consider forming a task force comprising officials from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Education, private hospital representatives, nursing professional bodies and others to come and look at this problem in toto and to put up recommendations to solve it.”
“Of course, ultimately this affects our efforts to become a Centre of Medical Excellence. Sir, the Acting Minister for Health mentioned in this House more than two weeks ago that the salary of nurses in the public sector will be increased. Indeed, Sir, this is great news. But salary is only one factor. By itself, I do not think it can solve our problem. More should be done to try to enhance the status and image of nurses. More attention should be paid on the training and education of nurses. Career prospects must be enhanced. Working conditions in hospitals must be improved. We cannot use nurses to peform clerical work in order to save on clerical manpower. I think this is a waste of nursing resources. The Ministry of Health recently spent $150,000 on a publicity campaign to attract more people to join the nursing profession. Again, it is a good effort by the Ministry. But, Sir, publicity campaigns and salary revisions, by themselves, are just piecemeal approaches to the problem. What is likely to happen is that we may be able to, through these campaigns and through salary revisions, solve our problem in the short term. In the longer term when school leavers become better trained and experienced nurses in Government hospitals, they are likely to be poached by private hospitals because the problem is not solved at the private hospital end. I think there is a need to take a comprehensive view of the problem. There is a need to adopt a total approach to the problem. There is a need to get the private hospitals involved in helping to address and solve this problem. There is also a need to get professional nursing bodies involved in order to tap their feedback and ideas to address and solve this problem.”
“Sir, for some years now we have been facing a shortage of nurses in Singapore, in both the Government hospitals as well as private hospitals. In FY 87 alone, statistics in the Budget document show that the Ministry of Health has only 3,134 nurses against an approved establishment of 3,888, giving a shortfall of about 750 nurses. Nursing Assistant's actual strength was only 1,460 against an approved establishment of 1,824, giving a shortfall of about 400 Nursing Assistants. Sir, this problem of shortage of nurses is compounded if we include the shortage experienced in private hospitals. In fact, the problem in the private hospitals is so serious that a local newspaper carried a report sometime ago that a private hospital is even prepared to pay its nurses $100 for every additional nurse that they bring in. Sir, the problem of shortage of nurses can be attributed to what we call the "push" and "pull" effects. Push effects are long working hours, graveyard shifts, low salary and prospects, stressful work environment, low image and the low status given to nurses. The pull effects unfortunately are taking place because our economy is expanding very fast. A lot of school leavers and even existing nurses are looking towards jobs in other types of service industries where the rewards are better and working environments are far superior. Sir, what is worrying is that both these effects are pulling in the same direction, actually making the problem of nurses shortage much worse. Nurses, as we know, play a very important role in building a healthy nation. Unless we very seriously and earnestly address the effects around the shortage of nurses problem, it will ultimately have an adverse impact on the standard of health care services rendered in our hospitals.”
“This may be an isolated incident but I think it has policy implications on the way the Intoxicating Substances Act is to be implemented. May I therefore suggest to the Minister that he consider either reviewing the law or to implement the Act more flexibly so as to allow those glue-sniffers above 21 years of age to be treated as long as parents, guardians or even the next-of-kin give consent for them to be treated. He may not volunteer but as long as there is enough evidence, a medical certificate from a doctor and other evidence to show that he is a glue-sniffer, I think the Falkland Centre should consider his case favourably. I would like the Minister to consider this recommendation.”
“Sir, the law relating to the arrest and treatment of inhalant abusers under the Intoxicating Substances Act passed in the House last year is confined to basically three categories of people: (a) inhalant abusers arrested in the act; (b) if a person is not seen sniffing glue but there are symptoms or proof to suggest that the abuse of inhalant has taken place recently; (c) the glue-sniffer is below 21 years of age and where the parents or the guardians submit an application for him to be treated. Sir, the law excludes persons above 21 years of age not belonging to category (a) or (b) and who do not volunteer for treatment even though they are glue-sniffers. It is quite understandable that a person, being above 21 years of age, has the right to decide what is good for himself, whether or not he wants to be treated. But one must remember that a glue-sniffer, under the strong influence of glue, is often not in the best position to think rationally what is best for himself. Sir, I am moving this cut in response to a recent experience encountered by a constituent of mine. He is a glue-sniffer, 25 years of age. He is aware of his own plight, aware of his own problems. The family members are sympathetic towards him and wanted him to be treated and cured. He agreed with the family members that he should be treated. But on the day he was supposed to be sent to the Falkland Centre for treatment, he thought otherwise. There was a medical certificate from a general practitioner and, as the MP, I wrote a letter to the Director, Falkland Centre, to say, "Please treat this case." But this person refused to give consent for himself to be treated. This is the plight of this person and the plight of his family members.”
“Sir, the presence of such a plate tells a lot about the public-spiritedness of residents in those blocks. It creates a good impression to visitors. It creates a sense of pride, a sense of belonging among residents in that block. It further promotes neighbourliness and, what is more, it actually enhances the resale value of flats in that block. This incentive may force residents to exercise even greater self-discipline and cooperation to keep their flats clean. This scheme, if successful, could be extended to food centres and so on. Sir, I would like the Minister's comments on whether he thinks the "carrot" approach is as necessary as the stick approach in solving our littering problem. I would also like the Minister's comments and views on the abovementioned proposed scheme to try to resolve the littering problem in HDB estates.”
“Sir, we passed legislation in this House last year to impose heavier fines on litterbugs. Enforcing this legislation is indeed an expensive and labour-intensive process. In fact, most law-abiding Singaporeans throw litter for the sake of convenience when nobody is around, as the Minister for the Environment has rightly pointed out in the House yesterday. This is found not just in public places such as roads, parks, bus stops, etc but very commonly in HDB estates where it is always convenient to throw litter down a high-rise flat without being caught. Sir, whilst the "stick" approach has been effective in solving our littering problem all these years, we should also perhaps consider the "carrot" approach to solve our littering problem, especially in HDB estates. In implementing the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme in HDB estates, we put up a big signboard, a big plate at the lift landing to tell visitors that 90% of residents in that block have participated in the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme. The objective of having this signboard is, of course, to deter robbers, thieves and would-be intruders. Sir, I think this scheme has worked quite successfully. The same principle could be applied to solving the littering problem in HDB estates. If residents in a block cooperate not to litter, then the cleanliness of a certain block deserves special attention. If the cleanliness of a certain block reaches a certain level which could be determined by a set of criteria set by the HDB, the grassroot organizations and the Ministry of the Environment, I think that block deserves special mention. Perhaps a similar signboard, a plate depicting cleanliness in that block, could be placed at the lift landing.”
“JTC intends to hand over the management of the remaining 424 executive flats to a Management Corporation to be formed by the lessees/residents so that they can manage their own estate. Over the years, JTC has gained wide recognition, both locally and internationally. Any proposal to change its name has to be weighed carefully as it must affect JTC's established goodwill. Until such time when a more compelling reason and a better name are found, JTC's name will remain as such. However, JTC does intend to change its logo to reflect more accurately its role as an industrial authority in Singapore.”
“Sir, may I ask the Minister whether he is aware of other econometric models developed by the academicians and professional institutions and whether the forecast of the economy from these models will also be taken into consideration? BG Lee Hsien Loong: Mr Speaker, Sir, I think the University has got certain partial models of the economy and I am sure other private banking institutions like Nomura or some of the Wall Street firms would have some basis for the estimates which they publish every year. As you know, no two models produce exactly the same result and we look at all the data. If our forecast is way out of line, we go to some trouble to try and understand why. 11.40 am [Mr Deputy Speaker in the Chair] MANAGEMENT OF JTC APARTMENTS 14. Mr Yeo Choo Kok asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) how many apartments have been built by the Jurong Town Corporation to date; (b) whether the JTC plans to build more apartments; (c) whether the JTC will let the Housing and Development Board take over and manage all its apartments; and (d) whether the JTC will be renamed appropriately to reflect its role as the sole factory and industry building authority in Singapore. BG Lee Hsien Loong: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, to date, JTC has built 24,003 units of public housing flats, and 728 units of middle-income housing which comprises 304 condominium and 424 executive apartments. JTC does not plan to build any more apartments as this task will in future be undertaken by HDB or the private sector. JTC handed over all its 24,003 units of public housing to HDB in May 1982. The management of the 304 condominium units was also handed over to the Management Corporation formed under the Land Titles (Strata) Act.”